August 22, 2013, 12:35 UTC+3Moscow slams this move as violation of international principle of inviolability of property

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MOSCOW, August 22 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed the arrest of the accounts of the Russian consulate-general in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, earlier this month, saying it was illegal and violated the international principle of inviolability of property.

"This issue is now being handled by the foreign ministries of the two countries," a diplomat said.

"We regard the move to execute the ruling by a local court as illegal, regardless of the reasons behind it: in this particular case the damage acknowledged by the court. We'll seek a principled legal assessment of what has happened from the Kazakh Foreign Ministry in order to rectify the situation within a reasonable timeframe," he added.

The diplomat referred to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 /an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between independent countries/ and the norms of international law envisioned by the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property of December 2, 2004.

"Under international law, each state has a special duty to ensure conditions for normal operation of foreign diplomatic missions and consulates accredited in its territory," the diplomat said.